I have a guy willing to sell his RE 3.5 superflex kit, but I wanted to see if anyone sees drawbacks to the kit, and if it's a decent deal.
Everything is new in box. He's asking $800. Includes:
Control arms
coils
shocks
AAL
bump stops
adjustable trac bar
tcase drop
spring pins/clamps
front discos
I'm not actually sure if it has shackles or blocks, but I assume it does as it's supposed to be a full kit. I can check on that.
I;m hesitant about AALs, but this one is really beefy. Plus I am gonna pick up some stock packs at the junkyard and make a bastard pack.
Another kit I found, which seems like a much better deal because it has a full pack is this one: http://www.rocky-road.com/xjtrailblazer.html
However, I was also going to just pick up some **** parts from junkyards and build my own. I'm not super-picky, so I wasn't sure if it was worth it to get a brand new kit, albeit at a discounted price. Thoughts?
Also, OME never made a 4" or 5" lift kit for the XJ's. The kit that Rocky Road is sell is a 3" kit with a 1" or 2" budget boost. I'd be REAL leary on running a Buget Boost in congunction with an OEM kit. Also they don't include lower control arms; and in my opinion it's one of the most important things at anything over 3.5" of lift on an XJ.
However, the kit you linked to doesn't include everything his does. He also has a trac bar. But that wouldn't seem worth that much $. I'll give him a call.
Add the RE trackbar and your almost to the same price I guess....
I wouldn't run the RE 1600 trackbar myself though. So save the $$ and get a better quality one with a better joint on it. I havn't ever seen anyone happy with that bar. Here is a recent review on the RE1600 bar.
I think that is a little pricey too. Some of that stuff you can make yourself for next to nothing. TC Drop Bracket is litterally 2 1" blocks of metal with a some holes drilled in it for bolts to go through. The Quick discos can be made for about $10 using stuff from the hardware store.
I would also stay away from the AAL. Yes it is cheaper, and I have AAL lift right now. It will do fine. But if you plan on keeping the jeep for a while, or your wife likes a smoother ride, you will want the full packs. Plus with an AAL lift you still use the stock leaf packs, so if they are not in good shape, which I think you said that they are not, then the AAL will only help for a short while and then you will ruin that as well. As soon as I can convince my wife that if she lets me put a little money in the susp. of my XJ it will ride much better, I will be replacing my leaf packs with full packs. I don't know if your wife is like mine, but the ride is important to them for some reason....
I would also stay away from the Super Ride lift from RE. Not from personal experience, but from my understanding the Super Flex and Super Ride kit are exactly the same except for the Bushings are much more sturdy and reliable in the Super Flex kit. So if you are going to buy one of the 2 by the Flex kit, my 2 cents. And I have heard that the ride quality is almost the same in both of them.
Welp hope that this helps. But I would work with that price a little if you go with that guy. Or ask him to not include the TC Drop bracket or the Quick Disco's for a lesser price. But, I would think that if you were that close to the price of a lift brad new from the store, I would pay the extra to get it from the store, just in case something happens, you would have been the only owner of the lift.
On a side note I have the RE Trac bar and have had no problems with it. Looking at that article Adam posted it appears that RE is not the preffered TracBar, but I have had no problems. They are so close in price though that if I were to buy again I would probably buy the Rock Krawler one.
-- Edited by aci4369 at 18:48, 2008-05-12
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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger
I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.
aci4369 wrote:On a side note I have the RE Trac bar and have had no problems with it. Looking at that article Adam posted it appears that RE is not the preffered TracBar, but I have had no problems. They are so close in price though that if I were to buy again I would probably buy the Rock Krawler one.
The trackbar you have is the RE1660; not the RE1600. You have the heavy duty version which is VERY VERY good. The RE1600 which I posted a link compairing it to the RK one is not the heavy duty one and in my opinion is junk. The RE1660 (heavy duty one that you have Andy) is in my opinion one of the best on the market and what I run on all of my own rigs.
aci4369 wrote:On a side note I have the RE Trac bar and have had no problems with it. Looking at that article Adam posted it appears that RE is not the preffered TracBar, but I have had no problems. They are so close in price though that if I were to buy again I would probably buy the Rock Krawler one.
The trackbar you have is the RE1660; not the RE1600. You have the heavy duty version which is VERY VERY good. The RE1600 which I posted a link compairing it to the RK one is not the heavy duty one and in my opinion is junk. The RE1660 (heavy duty one that you have Andy) is in my opinion one of the best on the market and what I run on all of my own rigs.
My bad, I missed that part. Thank you for the correction.
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'99 XJ, 5.5" lift, 33" MT's '11 Dodge Charger
I miss the days that they made toys that could kill a kid.
I would also stay away from the Super Ride lift from RE. Not from personal experience, but from my understanding the Super Flex and Super Ride kit are exactly the same except for the Bushings are much more sturdy and reliable in the Super Flex kit. So if you are going to buy one of the 2 by the Flex kit, my 2 cents. And I have heard that the ride quality is almost the same in both of them.
Really the only difference in the joints on the lower control arms. The SF uses the RE flex joint where the SR is just a rubber joint. The SF kit allows for more flex as it does have a flex joint on it. I wouldn't say that one is more reliable than the other. If anything I'd say that the SF kit is prone to failure more as you have to keep the joint greased.
The other difference between the SF and the SR kit is that the SR kit simply includes more. The SF kit includes the nicer Gen.2 Quick Disco's, and bumpstops, plus the ugpraded lower control arms.
Very interesting discussion. I think I'll end up with a RE SF kit with full packs. We'll see what the budget allows. If I can, I want to go for 4.5-6, but then I'll almost definitely need the SYE. I might just end up getting the kit I want, having it sit for a while and I'll save for the SYE.
In the meantime, off to the junkyard Friday and maybe I can find a forgotten lift there!
buy the lift that you want. what i mean is, if you want your rig to be 6 inches higher, but dont have the money right now then save up for it. dont compramise (sp?) just because you dont have the funds as of now. you will save money in the long run by buying the lift that you really want. i learned from experience because my truck has been at 4 different height. And when i first started to get into Jeeps, i wanted to lift mine 6in and soa the rear, but didnt and paid for 4 different lifts. now im at the 6 inches and am happy about it.
what i was rambling about is, if you want your truck to be 3-4in higher, then guy that lift. Dont buy it, however, if you want it 6in higher. save up for that lift and all the necessary equipment for that.
I agree with 89eliminator. It is hard to wait sometimes, but it is worth it. You will be happier in the long run if you buy what you really want, even if it means waiting.